Re-2 adopts calendars for the next two years

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The next two school years in Garfield School District Re-2 will look much the same as this school year.

The Re-2 school board adopted calendars for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years at its March 12 meeting that essentially match this school year's calendar, said Director of Districtwide Services Theresa Hamilton. It continues to include 149 days of student/teacher contact time, or school days.

The current school year calendar was the first to see students attend school four days a week, with Fridays off, as a cost-saving measure needed after state budget cuts. The four-day week was continued in both of the calendars just adopted.

The district's Collaborative Solutions team, composed of district and school administrators, staff and teachers, and a calendar committee, reviewed five calendar options, Hamilton said, and eventually narrowed those down to two draft calendars to present to the board.

The first draft had school starting on Aug. 13 with three days off at Thanksgiving and school ending before Memorial Day.

The second draft was similar, except school started a week later, on Aug. 19. The board unanimously adopted this draft.

District staff and the community were surveyed, with slightly over half of the 342 community responses and 204 staff responses preferring the Aug. 19 start date, Hamilton added.

"We know that school calendars can be such a personal thing to people," she said. "We always want to do our best to meet the needs of all our constituents. I can assure people that they were heard."

Hamilton said all written responses were provided to the Collaborative Solutions team, calendar committee and board members.